Spinning and twister frame



f `t2 Sheets-Sheet 1 QN L. im NN G. C. ANDERSON SPINNING AND TwIsTER FRAME Filed April- 3, 1940 IWLIILIIIIIT Dec. 8, 1942,.

eIl H @C Q G l //J-HN CIII IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII'III' Dec- 8 1942 G. c. ANDERSON 2,304,228

SPINNING AND TwIsTER FRAME Y Filed April s, 1940 2 sheefcs-sheet 2 www ,l

v A ATTORNEY.

Patented Dec. 8, 1942 SPINNING AND TWISTER FRAME Gordon C. Anderson, Saco, Maine, assigner to Saco-Lowell Shops, Boston, Mass., a corporation of AMaine Application April 3, 1940, Serial No. 327,598 v 2 Claims.

This invention relates to the builder motions of spinning and twister frames, both being hereinafter included in the term spinning frame.

A typical mechanism of this character includes a series of lifter rods located at spaced intervals along the side of the frame and .supporting the traversing ring rail on their upper ends. Associated with each of these rods .is a lifter arm, customarily counter-weighted, and the entire series of arms is connected with a lever operated by a builder cam at the head of the frame. In some arrangements the weight of the ring rail is dependent upon to produce its lowering movement under the control ofthe builder cam and its connections with the lifter rods, while the power .of the cam is utilized to lift the rail. In others the cam produces the lowering movement and counter-balancing weights are utilized to lift the rail.

While these mechanisms have long been used and they do work well in the great majority of cases, nevertheless they require considerable attention and they are subject to periods of hesitation and non-uniformity of movement arising from a multiplicity of causes.

The present invention aims to devise a lifter mechanism in which the forces utilized to lift the ring rail will be controlled more accurately and those which must be overcome by the cam in lowering the rail will be more uniform, to the end that a smoother and more accurately controlled movement of the ring rail `will 'be produced.

The nature of the invention will be readily understood from the following description when read in connection with the accompanying drawings, and the novel features will be particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

In the drawings,

Figure 1 is a side elevation of those parts of a builder mechanism with which this `invention is more especially concerned and illustrates an arrangement embodying the invention;

Fig. 2 is a diagrammatic view showing the manner in which the mechanism shown in Fig. 1 may be connected with the cam driven lever at the head of the frame; and

Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 1 showing another embodiment of the invention.

Referring rst to Fig. 1, a portion of a ring rail is shown at 2 carrying a series oi rings 3,

'each mounted in cooperative relationship to a 'on the upper end of a series of lifter rods, one

of which is shown at 6, this rod being supported (Cl. 242-433) y i for vertical reciprocating movement in guides 'I--l-of a bracket 8 which is secured to the vspindle rail. So far as these features are concerned, the construction illustrated is like those in common use.

According to the present invention, a vlifter arm I0 is mounted to swing on a pivot I2 sup` ported in the bracket I3, and it carries a roll at its outer end bearing against the lower surface of a bracket I4 secured `fast to the lifter rod 6. For the purpose .of operating the `arm I0, another arm I5 is mounted on the pivot I2, Vor is pivotally supported co-axially with it, and itis also pivoted at IB to the connecting rod `I'I which transmits the pull of the builder .cam tothe arm. A thrust screw 1.8 is threaded throughthe arm l0 .and bears at its lower end on theA arm I5 so that the part of the weight of the ring rail borne by the lifter rod 6 is transmitted through the arm VII) and screw I8 to the arm I5. The force so exerted on the latter arm is opposed by the lifter spring 20, `one end of whichl is" connected to the arm I5 at 2 I, while its opposite end is adjustably anchored to the bracket v22.` *y A Fig. 2 shows diagrammatically two of these lifter mechanisms 'connected to a ring rail and also to the usual heart-shaped builder cam 23 acting on the roll 24 of the builder arm 25, the latter being -connected by a chain 26 to the rod I'I `through a Ibell crank lever,r one arm 21 of which is fastened to the -chain while the other arm v28 is pivoted to the right-hand end of the connecting rod I1.

It l-should be observed that in the -arrangement j shown in Fig. 1 the parts III and I5 form, in effect, the work arm and power arm, respectively,

of a bell crank lever through which the force applied by the spring 20 is transmitted. The entire series of .springs associated with the respective lifter`v rods of the complete set supporting the ring rail thus is utilized to raise the rail. The lowering movement of the rail is produced by the cam 23 operating through the connections justl described between this velement and the arms I5, it rbeing understood that the point of this cam is down when the lifter rods are at the lower limit of their stroke. At this time the lifter arms I0 are inclined downwardly. Duringall of this lowering movement energy is being stored in the spring. The springs 20 act at all times to hold .the vroll 24 firmly against the edge face of the cam, .23, the cam overcoming the combined action of thesprings duringthe lowering movement of the rail and also controlling the rise of the rail which is produced solely by said springs.

It is important to the production of a uniform rate of rise or fall of the rail that the lifting CTI that the ring rail is there shown at the upper limit of its travel. Consequently, at this time the cam roll is passing the low point of the cam vand l will next be moved downward gradually by the rise of the cam. 'I'his movement'will be trans-A mitted by the connections above described to the arm I5 to swing this arm in a counter-clockwise direction around the pivot stud I2. It will also be noted that the point of connection 2I of the spring with the lever arm I5 is about 30 to the right of the vertical plane through the axis I2, and that as the movement just described continues, the point 2I swings upwardly in an arc struck about the axis of the pivot I2. This arrangement is such that as the tension of the spring 20 increases, the effective leverage which it exerts on the arm I5 becomes shorter, with the result that it exerts a substantially constant torque on said arm in a direction tending to makeV it rotate around said axis to lift the rod 6. Assuming, for example, that the spring Vin its shortened position, as shown in Fig. l, exerts a pull of one hundred pounds and that itsV effective leverage is eight inches, while in its extended position it pulls one hundred sixty pounds and its effective leverage is reduced to five inches, then the torque produced in the two positions would be equal. `That exerted in the intermediate .plo-v sitions of the arm would not `vary materially from the same value. v

The tension of the spring 210 may be adjusted by either of its connections with the bracket 22 or the arm I5, most ofl the'adjustment, however, preferably being made at the former. For this purpose the left-hand end, Fig. l, of the spring is secured to a tapered head on the bolt 30 on which a nut 3| and a check nut 32 are threaded. The former has a rounded head bearing in a concave socket in the end of the bracket 'to permit the bolt to remain in the axis of the spring as the latter swings. The connection at the opposite end of the spring includes a hook extending over a stud which projects laterally from the head of a bolt 33 extending loosely through a hole in a lug or flange 34 forming part of the arm I5. An adjusting nut and a check nut are threaded on the bolt at the right-hand side of the part 34. The angular relationship of the two arms I and I may be adjusted by means of the bolt I8.

This arrangement has been found in practice to operate very smoothly and its connections with the cam mechanism can readily be made such that all of the cross-shafts commonly provided in a mechanism of this character, with the possible exception of that nearest the cam mechanism, may be eliminated. These cross shafts and their bearings are a substantial cause of annoyance and are partly responsible for the unsatisfactory operation of builder motions of the type commonly used.

Another form of the 'invention is illustrated in Fig. 3, differing chiefly from that shown in Fig. l in that a compression spring isused instead of a tension spring. The parts corresponding to those illustrated in Fig. l are designated by the same, but primed, numerals. In this arrangement the outer or right-hand end of the compression spring 35 bears against the disk-like end 36 of a housing or shell 31, and the latter is held in a relatively stationary position by means of a rod 39, the left-hand end of which extends through, and is adjustably anchored in, a lug 40 projecting from the stationary bracket I3'. The thrust of the spring 35 is transmitted to the lever arm I5 through a semi-spherical member 4I, lslidable on the rod 39, and carried by a housing member 42 which telescopes within the corresponding member 31. A concave socket is formed in the end ofthe extension b of the arm I5' to serve as a seat for the member 4I.

In this construction the spring 35 is related to the arm I5' in essentially the same manner as in the embodiment of the invention shown in Fig. l. lThe angle at which it operates on the lever, and the point of application of its pressure thereto, bear essentially the same relation to the pivot I2' as does the spring 20 in the construction previously described. The spring also can be adjusted in much the same manner.` In both arrangements the springs are disposed approximately horizontally at one end of the range of travel of the ring rail and the angle through which they operate is nearly the same. The conn struction shown in Fig. 3, however, has the advantage of being somewhat more compact and the spring is protected from dust and fly. It will be observed that the extension b of the lever arm I5 has a tapered internal space through which the rod 39 extends and which is vso shaped asto clear the rod during the swing of the lever.

While the arms I0 and IIJ in these two constructions, and the load which they carry, do not exert exactly the same torque about the pivot on which the lifter arm swings throughout the entire range of travel of the ring rail, the variation in this force is not sufficient to interfere `matedrially with the operation above described. The

adjustment preferably is made such that the ,arms swing through equal arcs above and below l a mean horizontal position, and the total departure from this position is not great. Consequently, the application lof a uniform torque M around the axis I2 by the spring 20, or the spring 35 in the form shown in Fig. 3, produces a substantially uniform lift on the ring rail throughout its entire range of vtravel. The maximum error so introduced is only about 3% or 4%.

While I have herein shown and described a typical embodiment of my invention, it will be evident that the invention is susceptible of embodiment in other forms withoutv departing from the spirit or scope thereof.

Having thus described my'invention, what I desire to claim as neW`is:

1. In a spinning frame'including a ring rail and a series of lifter rods supporting it, mechanism for reciprocating said rail vertically including a pivoted lifter arm associated with each rod, a power arm movable about the pivot of each lifter arm in unison with the latter and connected -therewith to operate it, and a compression spring connected with each power arm to act on it in a direction tending to lift said rail, each lifter arm being mounted to swing through an are havingapproximatelyequal portions above and below a middle horizontal position, a tension rod connecting said spring with a stationary part of the machine, each spring having a rocking connection with its respective power arm and arm associated with each lifter arm and mounted to swing about the same axis as the lifter arm and connected therewith to operate the latter, each power arm extending downwardly from its pivotal support, a thrust screw connection between each of said power arms and its cooperating lifter arm adjustable to vary the relationship between said arms, links connecting the lower portions of adjacent power arms together, and a series of springs connected with the respective power arms and acting on them in a direction tending to lift said rail, said springs extending lengthwise of the frame and each spring being so related to its respective power 'arm that as its tension changes with the 'rising and falling movements of said ring rail, the effective leverage exerted by the springs will change inversely to such a degree as to produce an approximately uniform lifting effort on the ring rail throughout its range of travel.

GORDON C. ANDERSON. 

